Course of legal proceedings in the case
of the disappearance of
Mr. Mansour Rashid al-Kikhia
December 10, 1993
Following the disappearance of former
Libyan foreign minister Mansour Rashid Kikhia on December 10, 1993 while in
Cairo to attend meetings of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, The Libyan
League for Human Rights (LLHR) acted on both humanitarian and legal fronts to
shed light on this abominable crime that violated the fundamental rights of
Mr. Kikhia as well as the basic rules of international Human rights law.
Following are the main steps that have been taken:
-- In 1996, the LLHR filed suit
against the Egyptian minister of the interior in his official capacity, (case
no. 13477/1996 Civil/General, South Cairo), holding him liable for the
disappearance of Mansour Kikhia. At a hearing on March 21, 1998 the court
dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that it failed to demonstrate error or
shortinfoing attributable to the defendant.
-- The LLHR contested this verdict,
and proceeded to contest it via a Notice of Appeal filed on 16 April 1998 (no.
6181/15).
-- At a hearing on February 22, 1999
the Court of Appeal ruled in our favor, overturning the earlier verdict and
ordering the defendant to pay 100,000 Egyptian pounds in infopensation. It
upheld the validity of the grounds for appeal, which were based on the
application of international human rights law, as well as previous rulings by
the Egyptian Court of Cassation. These had affirmed the state’s liability in
the event of attacks on foreign nationals resident or present in its
jurisdiction, should it be proven that it failed to protect them or fulfill
its obligations towards them in keeping with the need to provide security and
safety on its territory
-- The defendant proceeded to
challenge the ruling on March 1, 1999 and the Court of Cassation overturned
the verdict and ordered a retrial.
-- On November 27, 2001 the Cairo
Court of Appeal issued a new ruling in favor of the defendant, and dismissed
our original lawsuit.
-- On January 17, 2002 we took a
further step in the litigation process by
Petitioning the Egyptian Court of Cassation to annul the Court of Appeal’s
ruling, on the grounds that it contravenes the law and is based on flawed
reasoning and inferences.
-- To date, the Court of Cassation
has not set a date for hearing our appeal, which we hope to be in favor of Mr.
Kikhia.
The LLHR will keep you informed on
any new development.
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